The maximum running time for a short film is 30 minutes, at least if it wants to be shown at the Linz International Short Film Festival (ISFF), which starts tomorrow. The organizers received more than 2,100 submissions from 112 countries, and 79 feature, animated and documentary films are running in the main competition. Most of them will celebrate their Austrian premiere in Linz. The opening film is the Iranian-Czech documentary “I’m trying to remember” by Pegah Ahangarani, which deals with the fate of a friend of her family during the Iranian Revolution.
Short film is a powerful tool
The festival, which is taking place for the sixth time, aims to capture and present the diversity of the world in impressive images and strong characters. “We believe that short film is a powerful tool to explore and reflect on the nuances of diversity and intersectionality in society,” say festival founders Parisa Ghasemi and Ashkan Nematian. The Jina Mahsa Amini Prize is being awarded this year in memory of Jina Mahsa Amini, the young woman whose death sparked the protest movement in Iran.
For the first time this year there will also be a Queer & Feminist Day. On October 13, the spotlight will shine on LGBTIQ* and feminist films, allowing filmmakers to present their unique and often marginalized perspectives. The focus is realized in cooperation with the women’s office of the city of Linz.
